Amal Al-Sibai Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — World Diabetes Day is celebrated every year on Nov. 14 to raise global awareness of diabetes, initiated by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization. Ghassan N. Pharaon Hospital (GNP) hosted an educational event on Tuesday to participate in the global campaign. A lecture was presented by internal medicine consultant Dr. Ashraf Shaaban, in addition to other interactive discussions and workshops that were held to educate patients and guests on the risks of diabetes and methods to control and manage the illness. Dietician Sarah Hallaj gave a lecture about what constitutes a healthy diet for diabetes prevention and treatment, with special emphasis on the importance of exercise. “The most common type of diabetes in Saudi Arabia is type 2 diabetes, which is caused by an unhealthy lifestyle: excess intake of calories and lack of physical activity. Diabetic patients need to learn that if they control these two factors, they can alleviate and push away many undesirable side effects of uncontrolled diabetes. Even a slight decrease in weight can improve the patient's health status. Diabetic patients can enjoy most types of food but need to watch for their portions,” said Hallaj. Along with the lectures, helpful handouts and brochures were distributed and a question and answer session was opened. Visitors were able to test, free of charge, their blood sugar levels, blood pressure, blood cholesterol levels, and their body mass index was also calculated to determine which patients were at high risk for diabetes and needed to follow more punitive preventive measures. Six out of the world's top 10 countries for highest prevalence in diabetes are in the Middle East and North Africa region — Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. The region has the most dramatic increase in the prevalence of diabetes in the world. Moving into urban cities, poor nutrition, decreased physical activity, increased obesity and smoking are all factors involved in the rapid spread of diabetes in the region. A scientific paper in the Saudi Journal for Health Sciences reported that the number of patients suffering from diabetes worldwide is in the range of 220 million. Surveys have shown that 23.7 percent of adults in the Kingdom between the ages of 30 and 70 years are diagnosed with diabetes and another 14.1 percent have impaired fasting glucose. In Saudi Arabia, the rise in diabetes prevalence has most significantly increased over the last 20 years. Diabetes occurs more commonly in urban areas than in rural areas, and in women more than in men, and it is closely associated with a rise in obesity rates. It is worrying that the prevalence seems to be doubling every two decades. Diabetes mellitus is a chronic condition with devastating cardiovascular, renal and neuropathic complications. Diabetes is also associated with disorders of the eye, such as glaucoma, cataract, and diabetic retinopathy that may lead to visual loss. Data in the Kingdom has shown that 43 percent of patients receiving regular dialysis treatment for kidney failure suffer from diabetes.
